Brainstorming and Lateral Thinking

8/18/2019 Brainstorming and Lateral Thinking

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Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 15/1/2013

The Five Building Blocks of the Heuristic


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Chapter 7


Nothing is more dangerous than anidea, when it is the only one you have.

- Emile Cartier

Generating Solutions


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Creative Thinking

Creative Thinking

The process we use to develop ideas that are unique,useful and worthy of further elaboration.

Creative thinkers

•Consider rejecting standardized formats for problem solving

•Have an interest in a wide range of related and divergent fields

•Take multiple perspectives on a problem

•Have a future orientation•Have self-confidence and trust in their own judgment


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Brainstorming Methods


Lateral Thinking

Free Association

(Unstructured Idea Generation)

Vertical Thinking

The

Brainstorming

Process

OSBORN’S

CHECKLIST

FUTURINGOTHER PEOPLE’S

VIEWS

UNRELATED

IDEAS

RANDOM

STIMULATION

RELATED IDEAS

Brainstorming is one of the most important techniques to generate and develop new ideas


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• That won’t work • It’s against our policy

• That’s too radical • We haven’t done it that way before

• It’s not our job • That’s too expensive

• We don’t have enough time • That’s not practical

• That’s too much hassle • We can’t solve this problem

Comments that reduce Brainstorming to

Braindrizzling


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BRAINSTORMING EXERCISE

Suggest safe playground equipment that could be

made from old cars.


7/30Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 75/1/2013

Suggested Uses of Old Cars as Equipment for aChildren's Playground


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Free Association

• Cut the body of the car up to make a 3-D puzzle.

• Take the tires and roll them along the ground.

• Take the seats out and use them as a bed to rest between

activities

• Teenagers could take the engine apart and try to put it backtogether.

• Make a garden by planting flowers inside.

• Use the tires to crawl through as an obstacle course.

• Make into sculpture.

• Take off the doors and use as a goal for hockey.

• Get on the roof and use the car as a slide.




Lateral Thinking

Free Association

(Unstructured Idea Generation)

Vertical Thinking

The

BrainstormingProcess

OSBORN’S

CHECKLIST

FUTURINGOTHER PEOPLE’S

VIEWS

UNRELATED

IDEAS

RANDOM

STIMULATION

RELATED IDEAS


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Osborn’s Checklist for Adding New Ideas

Vertical Thinking – (S.C.A.M.P.E.R)

SCAMPER is an acronym for a useful list of active

verbs that can be applied as stimuli to make you

think differently about the problem.

SCAMPER was defined by Robert Eberle, after an

initial list from Brainstorming originator AlexOsborn.



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Vertical Thinking – (S.C.A.M.P.E.R) • Substitute• Combine

• Adapt

• Modify (Magnify, Minify)• Put to other uses

• Eliminate

• Rearrange


RerraangeMinify

Mag nify Com bine


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•Substitute? ..... Who else, where else, or what else?

Other ingredient, material, or approach?

•Combine? ...... Combine parts, units, ideas? Blend?

Compromise? Combine from different categories?

• Adapt? .......... How can this (product, idea, plan, etc.) be

used as is? What are other uses it could be adapted to?

•Modify? ........ Change the meaning, material, color,

shape, odor, etc.?

•Magnify? ...... Add new ingredient? Make longer,

stronger, thicker, higher, etc.?

•Minify? ........ Split up? Take something out? Make

lighter, lower, shorter, etc.?



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Vertical Thinking – (S.C.A.M.P.E.R)

• Substitute

• Combine

• Adapt

• Modify (Magnify, Minify)

• Put to other uses

• Eliminate

• Rearrange




•Substitute: Use the car seats in swings.

•Combine: Use the side panels or roof tomake a huge canopy or fort.

•Adapt: Take the hood off and use it as atoboggan in winter.

•Modify: Crush the cars into cubes andallow the kids to climb on the blocks.




•Put to other uses: Remove the enginesand side panels and make go-carts.

•Eliminate: Throw away the rims and use the

tires for a "romper room"/jumping pit.

•Rearrange: Turn the car upside down anduse it as a teeter-totter.


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Futuring

• Laser to vaporize car

• Vapor separated into molecular components

• Use components to make polymers

• Polymers reassembled into toys (giant legos)



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Stuck

Unstuck


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Lateral Thinking: Other People’s View

• Think about walking around on your knees.

– How would this change your perspective--that is,

imagine the playground from a child's height.

• What was your favorite playground toy?

– How could this be mimicked with used auto parts?

Example: From a child's viewpoint, the intact car

would be an exciting change to pretend to be a

"grown-up." Just take off the doors and remove

other equipment (electrical, etc.) and let the kids

pretend to drive. Just leave the car as it is!



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Lateral Thinking: Random Simulation Words


all, albatross, airplane, air, animals, bag, basketball, bean, bee, bear, bump, bed, car,

cannon, cap, control, cape, custard pie, dawn, deer, defense, dig, dive, dump, dumpster, ear,

eavesdrop, evolution, eve, fawn, fix, find, fungus, food, ghost, graph, gulp, gum, hot, halo,

hope, hammer, humbug, head, high, ice, icon, ill, jealous, jump, jig, jive, jinx, key, knife,kitchen, lump, lie, loan, live, Latvia, man, mop, market, make, maim, mane, notice, needle,

new, next, nice, open, Oscar, opera, office, pen, powder, pump, Plato, pigeons, pocket,

quick, quack, quiet, rage, rash, run, rigid, radar, Scrooge, stop, stove, save, saloon,

sandwich, ski, simple, safe, sauce, sand, sphere, tea, time, ticket, treadmill, up, uneven,

upside-down, vice, victor, vindicate, volume, violin, voice, wreak, witch, wide, wedge, x-ray,

yearn, year, yazzle, zone, zoo, zip, zap


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Document

Paper Art Colors Car Paint

Allow kids to paint graffiti on cars



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• Let kids paint graffiti on the cars

• Paint targets and let kids throw balls at them

• Paint the car as a covered wagon and let the kids play cowboys

Whole Car

• Use the seats in swings

• Use the roof and doors as part of a fort

• Use the tire inner tubes as part of an obstacle

course (jump on)

• Use the car ’s hood as a toboggan

• Use the car ’s springs for a wobble ride

Painting

• Turn the car into a teeter-totter (upside down)

• Turn the car into a go-kart

• Crush the car and make blocks from it

• Let kids drive the car as is

• Open the car ’s doors and use them as goals for field hockey

Parts


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Basketball

Problem Statement: How could the rules of

basketball be changed so that players under 5‘7"

tall might be more competitive?



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Brainstorming Method: Free Association

Ideas Generated

• Tall players can't block

• Tall players can't rebound• Tall players can't dribble

• Tall players can't look at the basket

• Tall players can’t use the backboard


Basketball


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Ideas Generated

• No fouls on short players

• Taller players are not allowed outside the key

• Tall players have to wear weighted shoes

• Play in zero gravity

• Tall players wear uniforms with itching powder• Short players wear spikes

• Short teams have more players


Basketball


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Basketball


Ideas Generated


• Taller players are not allowed outside the key

• 3-point shot line closer for shorter players

• Tall players can guard only tall players• Tall players have to wear weighted shoes

• Short players can use trampolines

• Tall players must use e heavier ball

• Make tall players run (winded) before game

• Tall players wear uniforms with itchingpowder

• Short players wear spikes

• Tall players must carry a small child on theirbacks

• Tall players wear glasses restrictingperipheral vision

• Short and tall teams: Short teams have moreplayers

• Lower the height of the basket

• Two separate baskets

• Tall players can't block• Tall players can't rebound

• Tall players can't dribble

• Tall players can't lump

• No fouls on short players

• Tall players can't look at the basket

• Tall players cant use the backboard

• Play in zero gravity• Some players on each team under5’9”

• Short players’ baskets count more


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Basketball

Vertical Brainstorming :

Osborn’s Checklist – (S.C.A.M.P.E.R)

• Substitute

• Combine

• Adapt

• Modify (Magnify, Minify)

• Put to other uses

• Eliminate

• Rearrange



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Basketball (S.C.A.M.P.E.R)•Substitute? Platform tennis shoes with springs

(Subsititute Equipment)

•Combine? Short players can pick up other players

(Combine Players for more Height)

•Adapt? Smaller players can foul as many times as they want(rule adaptation).

•Modify? Raise baskets for taller players (modify court).Tall players stay inside 3 point line.(modify rules)

•Put to Other Uses Assists by smaller players count as points

(Assists more that passes to an open player)

•Eliminate Tall players shots worth 1 point (eliminate points).

•Rearrange? Separate leagues for taller and shorter players(rearrange grouping).



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Basketball

Brainstorming Method: Random Simulation

Random word or concept:

• Humbug - What ideas come to mind?• Humbug Scrooge mean rough more

relaxed foul rules for short players.

• Jealous rage short players may taunt tall

players to distract them.

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